Tokyo Olympics 2021, Women's football: Netherlands thrash Zambia 10-3

Two goals from Stina Blackstenius and one from Lina Hurtig snapped the US Women's national team's unbeaten streak from January 2019

10:39 AM

Olympics 2021 live updates: Australian rider provisionally banned from Tokyo Olympics

Equestrian Australia said on Wednesday it had provisionally suspended a member of the Olympic show jumping team over a positive test for cocaine.

 

The governing body said Jamie Kermond returned a positive A-sample for a metabolite of cocaine following a test conducted by Sport Integrity Australia on June 26.

 

It said Kermond was banned from competing at the Tokyo Olympics but had the right to have his B-sample analysed.

 

The 36-year-old Kermond was expected to make his Olympic debut at Tokyo.

 

The Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement that it was aware of Kermond's provisional suspension and that its selection committee would meet to consider his status on the team.

10:05 AM

Japan tops Australia in softball as delayed Tokyo Olympic Games open

Host Japan got off to a winning start when the Tokyo Olympics got underway after a one-year delay, beating Australia 8-1 on Wednesday in softball behind 39-year-old pitcher Yukiko Ueno, who won the 2008 gold medal game against the United States.

 

The game was played in a nearly empty stadium. Fans were barred from the Olympics because of the coronavirus pandemic, which caused a one-year delay. Many in Japan have questioned whether the Olympics should take place at all with low levels of vaccination in the nation.

 

Ueno allowed two hits over 4 1/3 innings and struck out seven, throwing 85 pitches for the win. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
 

9:59 AM

WHO leader says coronavirus risk inevitable at Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics should not be judged by the tally of COVID-19 cases that arise because eliminating risk is impossible, the head of the World Health Organisation told sports officials Wednesday as events began in Japan.

 

How infections are handled is what matters most, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech to an International Olympic Committee meeting.

 

The mark of success is making sure that any cases are identified, isolated, traced and cared for as quickly as possible and onward transmission is interrupted, he said.

 

The number of Games-linked COVID-19 cases in Japan this month was 79 on Wednesday, with more international athletes testing positive at home and unable to travel.

 

The mark of success in the coming fortnight is not zero cases, Tedros said, noting the athletes who already tested positive in Japan, including at the athletes village in Tokyo Bay, where most of the 11,000 competitors will stay.

9:55 AM

Tokyo Olympics 2021 live updates